It is not always easy to know whether a particular transcription opportunity is a scam. If you are not sure whether an opportunity is legitimate, you can check whether any of the typical scam tactics below apply to it to protect yourself.

No Contact Information

Any legitimate business would have its history and contact information on its website. Having contact information instills trust among prospects that may want to work with the company. Check whether there is any history about the company offering the transcription job. Also, check where the company is located. Look up the company’s physical address to ensure it exists.

Your Contact Information is Required

One of the signs of potential transcription job scams is a request for your information before you know what opportunity is available. For example, a website may have a pop-up form requiring you to provide your name, email address, phone number and physical address when you have no clue what type of transcription job is offered.

Website Uses Geo-Targeting

Scammers use geo-targeting scripts on their websites to make their “opportunities” seem customized for you. A geotargeting script is and makes a website opportunity seem like it is meant for you specifically based on your location. For example, if you are in Kansas, you may see information on the website saying “Transcription Opportunities for Kansas Residents Only!”

Many people have fallen victim to such transcription job scams. Do not be among the statistics.

Tasks Are Not Defined

Scammers usually create websites with opportunities that seem too good to be true. Here are two tell-tale signs of opportunities likely to be transcription job scams:

No experience or training necessary

Make thousands of dollars per day

If you cannot find any information about the companies you will be working for, there is a high possibility the website will try to make you buy a program.

Only a Few Spots Remaining!

Another way to avoid scams is to look for some sort of urgency in the opportunity information. For example, you may see a message indicating that only “57 spots are left” for the opportunity.

Legitimate companies are usually not desperate for employees. Yes, they may want top notch employees but will not use scarcity tactics to entice prospective employees to apply.

If you come across a transcription opportunity with information that “only a few spots are left,” it is probably a scam.

Company is Desperate for You

When you try to navigate away from a website and it tries to suck you back, it’s probably run by a scammer. Scammers are desperate for your contact information or for you to take action and buy whatever they are promoting. Most of the time, they won’t be upfront about the money you will pay as is required by the FTC.

If a site always produces pop-ups trying to suck you back to take advantages of the opportunity, it is probably a scam.

Fake Testimonials

Testimonials on the transcription jobs website can also give you an idea of whether to trust it or not. When you see any testimonials, find out whether they were made by real people. For example, it’s easy to find out whether Facebook reviews were written by real people by searching for the people who left them.

Many “Trust” Badges

Have you ever come across a job “opportunity” on a site that has a lot of “As Seen On” badges from CNN, MSNBC, Fox TV, McAfee SECURE and the like? These badges mean nothing most of the time and are only meant to make you think the company is legitimate. Transcription job scams sites use a lot of these badges.

Spend Money to Make Money

Legitimate companies do not require you to pay for a job. After all, you are looking for a job to get paid. Beware of companies that indicate you need to spend money to make money.

Non-Existent Contact Information

A simple way you can test whether a company is legitimate is by trying to contact them through their website, email or phone. While a company may have a lot of inquiries, it shouldn’t take them more than three business days to reply to your email. Moreover, the phone number should be answered by a real person on the other side, not a voicemail message.

With the freedom that transcription jobs offer, many people are seeking the opportunities to make a full-time or extra income. However, creative scammers are also on the rise. Follow the tips above to avoid getting scammed.

Well, if you are looking for legit online transcription jobs then you can apply through TCI’s Job Board. Transcription Certification Institute has started an initiative to bring transcribers and transcription companies at one platform. The main motive behind this is to prevent new transcribers from online transcription job scammers and make the job search process easy.

Mahesh is the spokesperson of the Transcription Certification Institute, an Ellensburg, WA based company that provides comprehensive online general transcription training certification courses. This transcription certification course facilitates careers in transcription because it provides a guaranteed internship with a major transcription company upon certification.